Jacksonville, Illinois, 3,189 students in 11 schools

Jacksonville School District 117 Snow Day Predictor

Q: How much snow does Jacksonville get?

About 15.7 inches a winter at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away, averaged over 10 winters. Between December 1 and March 31 that brings 1.3 weekday mornings a year with 2 inches of new snow or more, and 0.3 with 4 inches or more.

Q: What was the biggest snow day near Jacksonville?

10 inches on January 12, 2019, the largest single day at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away in 10 winters. The snowiest winter was 2018 to 2019, with 34.2 inches.

Q: How does the Jacksonville snow day predictor work?

It reads the National Weather Service forecast for Jacksonville through the night and the 5 to 8 am bus run, adds winter alerts and the Winter Storm Severity Index, and measures the snow against Jacksonville’s own big snow morning: 2.9 inches, the top tenth of snowy weekday mornings at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away.

Q: Can Illinois schools hold a remote day instead?

A district with a board adopted e-learning program, verified each year by its regional office, can use e-learning days in place of its emergency days, and they count as full attendance days; they cannot exceed the emergency days in the calendar.

The odds of a closing or a delay on the next three school mornings in Jacksonville, measured against Jacksonville's own big snow morning of 2.9 inches.

The next three school mornings

Will Jacksonville close tomorrow?

Reading the National Weather Service forecast for the overnight and the bus hours in Jacksonville.

Ten winters of school mornings

Jacksonville’s snow record

15.7inches of snow a winter

1.3school mornings a winter with 2 in of new snow or more

0.3with 4 in or more

2.9 ina big snow morning in Jacksonville: the top tenth of snowy school mornings

4.9school mornings a winter at 0 F or colder

2.5Nov

2.1Dec

5.3Jan

4.5Feb

0.8Mar

Average snowfall by month, inches

Biggest day 10 in on January 12, 2019
Snowiest winter 2018 to 2019, 34.2 in
6 in mornings 0.2 a winter
1 in mornings 3.8 a winter

Measured at a NOAA weather station 1.4 miles away. Mornings are the 7 am snow reading on a weekday from December 1 through March 31, over the ten winters from 2016 to 2017 through 2025 to 2026, from NOAA GHCN Daily.

The Illinois rule

How Illinois counts a lost day

Illinois requires a calendar of at least 185 days to guarantee 176 days of actual student attendance, each of at least 5 clock hours. The extra calendar days are emergency days used first; after they are gone, the State Superintendent may excuse days lost to an act of God or a hazard beyond the district's control without cutting state aid.

The Illinois rules in the agency’s own words, and every Illinois district

Next door

Districts near Jacksonville

District	Snow a winter	4 in mornings	Built in days
Ball-Chatham Community Unit School District 5Chatham	18.6 in	0.6
Springfield School District 186Springfield	18.6 in	0.6	5
Alton Community Unit School District 11Alton	5.1 in	0.3
Quincy School District 172Quincy	8.3 in	0.4
Pekin Public School District108Pekin	25.5 in	0.6
Edwardsville Community Unit School District 7Edwardsville	13.1 in	0.4

The schools

11 schools

Every school in Jacksonville follows the district’s call: one closing covers them all.

High

Jacksonville High School

Middle

Jacksonville Middle School

Elementary

Eisenhower Elem School
South Jacksonville Elem School, South Jacksonville
Washington Elem School
Lincoln Elem School
North Jacksonville School
Murrayville-Woodson Elem School, Murrayville

Other schools

The Early Years
Crossroad Learning Center
Special Ed and Student Services

Questions

Jacksonville snow day questions

How much snow does Jacksonville get?

What was the biggest snow day near Jacksonville?

How does the Jacksonville snow day predictor work?

How does Illinois handle snow days?

Can Illinois schools hold a remote day instead?

More winter

More for Illinois snow days

Snow day predictorClosing and delay odds for any ZIP, with the snowiest districts in the country.Snow depth mapHow much snow is on the ground right now, measured, across the country.First snow datesWhen the first measurable snow usually lands where you live.Frozen pipesThe nights cold enough to freeze a pipe, and what to do before one.Snow plow trackerWhere the plows are during a storm, city by city.Illinois winter forecastThe season ahead for Illinois: snowfall, cold and the first snow.

A residential street under deep snow on a bright blue morning, cars parked along the curb buried into smooth white mounds, one set of tire tracks down the middle — The morning after a big one: cars buried to the mirrors and one set of tracks down the middle. A street like this is a closing, no debate. Photo, Fairfax, Virginia, January 2016: Jarek Tuszyński, CC BY 4.0

The odds are a forecast read, and the superintendent makes the call: the district’s own announcement is the one to follow.